Supporters of solar power got a cloudy reception at the state Public Service Commission on Wednesday.

We Energies customers who signed up for green pricing options under the Energy for Tomorrow program will see big jumps in the amount they pay the utility next year, the state Public Service Commission decided.

The PSC decided to block funding for a We Energies solar generation project and to allow the utility to terminate a renewable energy development program used by churches and other nonprofit organizations to add solar panels to their buildings.

The commission includes two appointees of Republican Gov. Scott Walker, Phil Montgomery and Ellen Nowak, as well as Eric Callisto, who was appointed by former Gov. Jim Doyle, a Democrat.

The green power pricing changes affects about 20,000 residential customers and hundreds of business customers who are on the Energy for Tomorrow program. Under the program customers agree to pay a premium on their monthly bills, and We Energies buys blocks of power from renewable sources to meet that demand.

Callisto, the Doyle appointee, said the increase in the premium will be 75% for most Energy for Tomorrow customers and more than 100% for certain customers.

“It’s too large, and you’re going to see a very large decrease in the use of this energy by all those customers,” Callisto said, calling for a more gradual increase to phase in the higher costs over three years.

But Nowak said the utility’s proposal is aimed at having customers pay what it actually costs for the renewable energy, without having other customers pick up the tab.

“This is a voluntary program and the sooner we can get to applying costs to those who voluntarily go on it and take it away from people who are involuntarily on it,” she said.

The renewable program was part of a commitment We Energies had made to Renew Wisconsin, a renewable energy advocacy group, in return for Renew’s agreement not to oppose construction of new coal-fired power plant in Oak Creek.

We Energies suspended the program last year, but Renew Wisconsin objected, saying the utility was walking away from its commitment to fund $60 million for the program. The group sought $6 million in funding for the program in 2013.

Callisto proposed an alternative that would have kept the funding to $2 million a year, but Montgomery and Nowak sided with We Energies that the utility had done more than enough by paying to build wind farms and a biomass power plant in north-central Wisconsin.

We Energies "has spent more than $1 billion on renewables, and the intent of this program has been met and more," said Montgomery.

The commission also denied funding of more than $3 million to finance a solar project that We Energies had proposed to build next year. The project was proposed as part of a settlement with Sierra Club and Clean Wisconsin of litigation over the Oak Creek coal plant.

Separately, the PSC also allowed We Energies to discontinue its “energy partners” program that credits residential customers up to $50 if they agree to let the utility shut off their air conditioner during times of peak energy use.

We Energies said the program was too costly to administer.

About Thomas Content

Thomas Content covers energy, clean technology and sustainable business. A series he co-wrote on energy and climate change won top honors in 2008 from the National Press Foundation.

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